The observant among you will have seen there is a huge gap in the posting sequence. I am afraid that my annual leave and a return to a busy work schedule has knocked some of this off course. Now that shouldn't have happened and I guess if you value something (or indeed someone) then that's a pretty lame excuse.
However, all is not lost in the world of mindfulness training. I can sense that some learning has occurred and the practice of meditation is really a way or indeed a path to greater awareness of the moment.
I am using a audio recording to practice and it commences with a gentle sounding bell to denote the commencement and the closure of the session.
In the book you are urged to find "bells" in your everyday life that can signal brief moments of clarity and mindfulness. One that it suggests is that of the red man at road crossings when you are walking. It gives you approximately two minutes to note your current situation and root yourself in your breathing
So if you are in London and see a man calmly standing at a red signal despite every one else dashing across then that will probably be me!
Friday 6 September 2013
Monday 22 July 2013
Mindfulness Week 3 : 22/7/13
There's much to write about in mental health services at the moment , but with your patience I am going to continue to consider the issue of Mindfulness and my on going practice. It has been really hard to build a sense of discipline into this area of my life and I guess discipline is not a virtue I possess but am keen to develop. It really is striking what can get in the way when you have to find all of 8 minutes for a meditation exercise. I recall clearly when I have had the task of writing or even the dreaded marking when a lecturer.
It was surprising then how much time I could waste on walking from room to room , or tasks that needed doing suddenly seemed urgent. I found myself engaged in any distracting behaviour rather than get marking that pile of dissertations.
In many ways this is similar , there are lots of reasons why I should do other things rather than pay attention to the needs of practice. Yet I persist, and have found real moments of calm and quiet. If we wait for the world we live in to be like that , then we can wait a very long time!
I have found one of the most revealing issues to be the constant chatter of internal dialogue that demands attention but which can be really fruitless, at worst this seems to take the form of ruminating and can be tiring. Yet a simple attentive episode of "noticing" can be so restorative, it seems to have the capacity to introduce actual choice as to the significance of what we experience.
I have found the exercises related to listening quite revealing (although dominated by the local jackdaws) , as they clearly point towards the listening we can undertake to internal thought "chatter" and whether choose to do more than notice its presence.
So yes still persisting and even more importantly feeling a real sense of benefit.
It was surprising then how much time I could waste on walking from room to room , or tasks that needed doing suddenly seemed urgent. I found myself engaged in any distracting behaviour rather than get marking that pile of dissertations.
In many ways this is similar , there are lots of reasons why I should do other things rather than pay attention to the needs of practice. Yet I persist, and have found real moments of calm and quiet. If we wait for the world we live in to be like that , then we can wait a very long time!
I have found one of the most revealing issues to be the constant chatter of internal dialogue that demands attention but which can be really fruitless, at worst this seems to take the form of ruminating and can be tiring. Yet a simple attentive episode of "noticing" can be so restorative, it seems to have the capacity to introduce actual choice as to the significance of what we experience.
I have found the exercises related to listening quite revealing (although dominated by the local jackdaws) , as they clearly point towards the listening we can undertake to internal thought "chatter" and whether choose to do more than notice its presence.
So yes still persisting and even more importantly feeling a real sense of benefit.
Thursday 27 June 2013
Mindfulness :Week 2
So two weeks of mindfulness practice have gone by, and what a really interesting (to me) couple of weeks it has been. I am now firmly into week 3 and really enjoying it.
I think some of the major challenges have been carving out time and also reconsidering how I engage with everyday life.
It has been a challenge occasionally to undertake the meditation exercises and I have resorted to doing them on my early morning commute to London at times. But, the good news is that it can be done!
I have also reconsidered exactly what happens when I spend time just thinking. I always thought that the quiet time I enjoy in the early morning with a strong cup of Assam tea was a moment of reflection and preparation for my day.
However, using the practice of mindfulness I can see that it was usually far from restful. It was characterised by planning, anticipating and at times ruminating over what may happen, what very probably would happen and at times what would rarely happen.Far from restful and at times quite exhausting and also pointless. So what difference can mindfulness make?
Perhaps I can give you an example of yesterdays journey to a CQC meeting in London.
My train was cancelled, then the next train was delayed.In fairness this is a rare occurrence for me but still a frustrating start and I hate being late to a meeting.
I then got onto Paddington underground station and had to wait for a Circle line train.
However, as time went on I stepped to the open sun filled end of the platform stood in the sunshine, closed my eyes and mindfully focussed on my breathing. I may have spent only a minute or two, but I felt the sun and noted the sensations coming through my feet and just stayed in the moment.
It was not only a quick destressor but a very pleasurable moment. No real requirement other than to place into practice what I have been learning.
I hope that such occurrences of using what I am learning will continue to present themselves. I wonder if you would find such means of managing everyday issues helpful to?
I think some of the major challenges have been carving out time and also reconsidering how I engage with everyday life.
It has been a challenge occasionally to undertake the meditation exercises and I have resorted to doing them on my early morning commute to London at times. But, the good news is that it can be done!
I have also reconsidered exactly what happens when I spend time just thinking. I always thought that the quiet time I enjoy in the early morning with a strong cup of Assam tea was a moment of reflection and preparation for my day.
However, using the practice of mindfulness I can see that it was usually far from restful. It was characterised by planning, anticipating and at times ruminating over what may happen, what very probably would happen and at times what would rarely happen.Far from restful and at times quite exhausting and also pointless. So what difference can mindfulness make?
Perhaps I can give you an example of yesterdays journey to a CQC meeting in London.
My train was cancelled, then the next train was delayed.In fairness this is a rare occurrence for me but still a frustrating start and I hate being late to a meeting.
I then got onto Paddington underground station and had to wait for a Circle line train.
However, as time went on I stepped to the open sun filled end of the platform stood in the sunshine, closed my eyes and mindfully focussed on my breathing. I may have spent only a minute or two, but I felt the sun and noted the sensations coming through my feet and just stayed in the moment.
It was not only a quick destressor but a very pleasurable moment. No real requirement other than to place into practice what I have been learning.
I hope that such occurrences of using what I am learning will continue to present themselves. I wonder if you would find such means of managing everyday issues helpful to?
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Mindfulness: Week 1
So my first week of mindfulness practice ends today and only seven more weeks of the course to go. I must admit like most issues requiring discipline I have found this a challenge. So far I have enjoyed the delights of chocolate, examined the intricacies of a raisin and undertaken routine tasks in a mindful manner.As the week has progressed the two daily meditations on awareness of body and breath have been fairly easy to fit in my day as only eight minutes long. Somehow though they seem to be ending more quickly and leaving me wanting more.
So what are the tangible benefits of this approach to life, and what does the future hold on the programme?
Firstly there does seem to be a growing awareness of the "moment" and engaging with "now" rather than the past or future. A simple example being when a meeting started looking difficult as the IT was not present I found myself rushing down a corridor and getting in a real sweat about it. I found myself aware of this rushing and then just slowly returning to a sensible pace and feeling a lot better for it. I guess I intervened and prevented a situation escalating.
There also seem to be benfits in the awareness of the thoughts that can intrude and require attention (and therefore energy) when they are really rather pointless rehearsals or speculation about future events.So what is next on the course? I enter week two anticipating rather more lenghty meditation sessions, in fact I think they are about three times longer.
I will report back on the end of the second week.
So what are the tangible benefits of this approach to life, and what does the future hold on the programme?
Firstly there does seem to be a growing awareness of the "moment" and engaging with "now" rather than the past or future. A simple example being when a meeting started looking difficult as the IT was not present I found myself rushing down a corridor and getting in a real sweat about it. I found myself aware of this rushing and then just slowly returning to a sensible pace and feeling a lot better for it. I guess I intervened and prevented a situation escalating.
There also seem to be benfits in the awareness of the thoughts that can intrude and require attention (and therefore energy) when they are really rather pointless rehearsals or speculation about future events.So what is next on the course? I enter week two anticipating rather more lenghty meditation sessions, in fact I think they are about three times longer.
I will report back on the end of the second week.
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Mindfulness, getting ready
This course of learning over 8 weeks starts with a taster (literally) event to prepare you for the future work. It all starts with a meditation exercise requiring chocolate. Now its not something I really ever buy so last night at Paddington following a long day I quickly purchased a bar . I settled into my seat on the 20:15 to Swansea and read some more of the Mindfulness book.
Now I am no stranger to commuter etiquette but I did feel a bit strange sniffing and admiring the chocolate before I ate it!
Fortunately I was ( I hope ) discreet and undertook the exercise.
All I will say is that the process of noticing the various flavours as it dissolved on my tongue made this the most enjoyable chocolate bar I have ever eaten.
I think I learnt the process of being in the moment and savouring an experience rather than rushing onto the next event or idea or even task allowing myself to truly engage with the experience.
I look forward to going forward and savouring not just a raisin (all will become clear) but also anticipating an ability to notice rather than engage (especially with those pesky intrusive thoughts)
Now I am no stranger to commuter etiquette but I did feel a bit strange sniffing and admiring the chocolate before I ate it!
Fortunately I was ( I hope ) discreet and undertook the exercise.
All I will say is that the process of noticing the various flavours as it dissolved on my tongue made this the most enjoyable chocolate bar I have ever eaten.
I think I learnt the process of being in the moment and savouring an experience rather than rushing onto the next event or idea or even task allowing myself to truly engage with the experience.
I look forward to going forward and savouring not just a raisin (all will become clear) but also anticipating an ability to notice rather than engage (especially with those pesky intrusive thoughts)
Monday 3 June 2013
Mindfulness : an Eight week programme
I have been discussing recently the issue with colleagues of levels of morbidity amongst the nursing proffession. The RCN provides a excellent welfare service and the level of demand is rising year on year. I couldn't help wondering if there was more that could be offered or even done in order to try and adopt a more healthy approach to the stresses of life than all the usual coping mechanisms we may all use at some time.
My attention was drawn by various events to the work of John Kabat-Zin who like Lord Layard before him has caught the eye of the top level of Goverment. The approach of Mindfulness whilst drawn from Buddist meditation practice has been integrated into approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and also Stress reduction. Well Ok you may say but isn't it all a bit West Coast USA?
Not really , apparently endorsed by NICE , MBCT is recommended for people who have endured repeated episodes of depression.
So armed with such endorsements I have purchased the book Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman and I am embarking on a 8 week course in Mindfulness practice.
First exercise involves eating Chocolate so should improve my journey home tonight
I'll keep you posted
Ian
My attention was drawn by various events to the work of John Kabat-Zin who like Lord Layard before him has caught the eye of the top level of Goverment. The approach of Mindfulness whilst drawn from Buddist meditation practice has been integrated into approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and also Stress reduction. Well Ok you may say but isn't it all a bit West Coast USA?
Not really , apparently endorsed by NICE , MBCT is recommended for people who have endured repeated episodes of depression.
So armed with such endorsements I have purchased the book Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman and I am embarking on a 8 week course in Mindfulness practice.
First exercise involves eating Chocolate so should improve my journey home tonight
I'll keep you posted
Ian
Monday 11 February 2013
Reflections on the Francis Report
Firstly I am not going to rehash the content of the report which is being closely read by many more wiser than I. However, suffice to say it has provoked a great deal of comment and consternation in equal measure. I want to draw a rather strange connection (possibly) between the report and the utterances of Chris Huhne the ex cabinet minister who is currently being mauled by the media for various reasons not least being found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
The fall from grace (as its strangely known) of a public figure is always it seems enjoyed in a kind of perverse way by all of us. It's a bit like watching a train crash in very slow motion as all becomes unravelled, and the moment comes when the person involved has to make their statement, and exit in a dignified manner amongst the wreckage of their career and in this case public scrutiny of their private life.
I was most interested however, by the choice of language in his statement outside court.
He refferred to his need to accept responsibility for "something that happened ten years ago". Carefully chosen words that attempt to provide a distance and also remove a sense of ownership. Note , not something "that I did" but rather "something that happened".
Neat eh?
Almost a sort of admission but also a sense of not being personally responsible. So how does this connect to the Francis report? Well the events of the debacle that ensued in Stafford have been distilled to a pernicous and inhumane culture of an organisation that became obsessed with pursuing financial targets and in that process endangered the people it served by not providing a service that met their needs. Now many erudite verdicts are being delivered by many commentators and there are calls for resignations, and many protestations that targets should never have resulted in such a situation. Those who now provide this rational commentary are in part those who drove a culture began many years ago where the "business" of health became a reality.
So my question is really were the events of Stafford something that "happened" as if by chance or rather something "we did" by looking the other way distracted by the lure of the rewards offered and deaf to the cries of both patients and families?
The fall from grace (as its strangely known) of a public figure is always it seems enjoyed in a kind of perverse way by all of us. It's a bit like watching a train crash in very slow motion as all becomes unravelled, and the moment comes when the person involved has to make their statement, and exit in a dignified manner amongst the wreckage of their career and in this case public scrutiny of their private life.
I was most interested however, by the choice of language in his statement outside court.
He refferred to his need to accept responsibility for "something that happened ten years ago". Carefully chosen words that attempt to provide a distance and also remove a sense of ownership. Note , not something "that I did" but rather "something that happened".
Neat eh?
Almost a sort of admission but also a sense of not being personally responsible. So how does this connect to the Francis report? Well the events of the debacle that ensued in Stafford have been distilled to a pernicous and inhumane culture of an organisation that became obsessed with pursuing financial targets and in that process endangered the people it served by not providing a service that met their needs. Now many erudite verdicts are being delivered by many commentators and there are calls for resignations, and many protestations that targets should never have resulted in such a situation. Those who now provide this rational commentary are in part those who drove a culture began many years ago where the "business" of health became a reality.
So my question is really were the events of Stafford something that "happened" as if by chance or rather something "we did" by looking the other way distracted by the lure of the rewards offered and deaf to the cries of both patients and families?
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